What 3 lessons did I learn from the best professional development experience in the history of the world, and how can they help you in your classroom? At the end of June, I spent one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life in Conroe, Texas (north of Houston)…at professional
When I introduce students to the water cycle, I give them a bottle of water labeled “dinosaur pee.” I invite them to, “Drink up, me hearties!” I ask them if they believe me that there is dinosaur pee in the bottle. Some do, some don’t. I then explain that because
Summer…ahhhh…the time most teachers catch up on doctor’s appointments, shopping, and all the myriad errands and chores that go by the wayside during the hectic school year. I’m sharing 11 things every teacher should do this summer to help it be a recharge, refresh, and also effective preparation for the
I received an email about a differentiation issue, and decided it was worth doing an entire case study on the problem this parent is facing. I’ve crowdsourced it with some awesome teachers from the Bullitt County School District in Kentucky (near beautiful Louisville). We sat down one afternoon and hashed
Got defiance? Handling defiant students (or personal children) can be one of the most difficult aspects of teaching, particularly when we don’t feel supported by others on the support team. Having a large toolbox of strategies and ideas can help. I’m sharing the ideas I’ve gathered over time from
Why you must see Gifted. Gifted does for gifted what Love Story did for Harvard: everyone will want to go there. It is the best onscreen fictional treatment of gifted ever. In history. In the universe. It is a must-see for anyone who cares about gifted kids, doesn’t really understand giftedness, is parenting a
I’m sharing where to find dot-to-dot free samples (and other ideas) today because I love dot-to-dot. Why I love dot-to-dot It’s fun. I like fun stuff. It is great fine motor skill practice. This is more critical for academic success than I think we give it credit for. It allows
Best Practice in Vocabulary Instruction for English Language Learners In a lot of ways, vocabulary instruction for English Language Learners is a lot like vocabulary instruction for any learner. [See the previous posts in the series for ideas.] Yet there are some differences that are worth discussing to ensure that vocabulary
I’m sharing 21 ideas for teaching vocabulary. You may not be able to use all of them, but I hope you can find some ideas that will work well for you! I’ve shared books about vocabulary instruction, as well as the theory and techniques. This post is a lot more practical. We’re
The theory and techniques for teaching vocabulary may not be as fun as the ideas that I’ll share in the next post or as perusing the books in the last post, yet this is the theory applicable to all ages and types of readers. It is the knowledge that will enable
Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary Strategies for teaching vocabulary are a critical part of every teacher’s toolkit, yet searching for them is a little bit of an Alice in Wonderland experience – down the rabbit hole you go. Responding to a question I got in an email (shout out to blog post
One of the most difficult things for teachers working with high ability students is to get them to pay attention to the work they’re doing. Many extremely able students get lower grades than they otherwise would because they fail to pay attention to the little details. You know what I
